Chopping block: Changes to Texas roadways

Jim Sinsky of Groveton, Texas, recommends a few changes to the state’s roadways:

Okay, how about making the lines painted on roadways 1/4 inch narrower and an inch shorter for the non-solid lines. If a 4 inch wide line was reduced by a quarter inch, it would save 6% on paint.

Also, stop adding and/or replacing unnecessary road signs like “Tom Landry Super Bowl Highway” or “Atlas ICBM Highway” or “Keep Texas Clean”. I read someplace that the signs cost about $500 each. A list of memorial highways could be printed on State Highway Maps or be available on-line.

The state pays about $2,000 per mile of striping along its roadways. A normal line is four to six inches wide, and lines at least twice that width indicate a larger degree of emphasis.

The Texas Department of Transportation and local jurisdictions could save some costs by making lane markings narrower, but the agency is limited to either a four- or six-inch line in order to comply with the federal standards, said Jim Cotton, an agency spokesman. Four inches is considered the national minimum, he said.

“We typically already use four inch markings in many situations, and we would be hesitant to reduce the width simply out of concern of adverse impacts on public safety,” Cotton said, in an e-mail. “This would especially be true in inclement weather and at night.”

The Federal Highway Administration last published its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices in 2009, explaining the minimum guidelines about markings and signs for the states’ roadways. States are allowed to follow the federal rules or create a specific supplement that largely conforms to the national report.

TxDOT did just that, in 2003 and 2006. Currently, the agency is expected to adopted new guidelines in December, Cotton said.

Since 2007, state funds have not gone to pay for state-designated highway signs, which must be financed by private grants or donations. A city or county may also name a portion of the state highway system, and the sponsoring jurisdiction must pay for the signs.